The Best Friends: Bloopers and Outtakes
by Crowlows19
Summary: These are all the chapters that didn't make it into 'The Best Friends'. Bloopers, outtakes, and cliches. See inside for more details.
1. Chapter 1

So, yeah. This entire 'story' will just be a bunch of outtakes from _The Best Friends**. **_Plot bunnies, discarded ideas, really bad ideas, OCC, crossovers, and just things I wanted to get out of my head but certainly didn't want in the real story. It's pretty rough, mostly unedited, and riddled with plot holes. There will also not be any set order to what is published when.

I guess I'm publishing it just to publish it. Hope you enjoy my blooper wheel!

This chapter was ultimately replaced by "All Your Fault" which was my Christmas chapter based off of a Psych episode. This is a crossover with the movie Four Brothers but you really don't need to have seen it to understand the chapter. It's Tom-centric. Time lines are mutilated in here so please do not bring that up. There's a reason it wasn't published in the main story.

* * *

Only Tom could have taken a life threatening situation and turned it into the ultimate adventure. This was because Tom -at least in his own head-understood how the world worked. It couldn't be denied that he didn't fully understand anything from Alex's world but in his own messed up reality, he understood perfectly. It also couldn't be denied that Tom was a special brand of crazy. Some people liked to write it off as unique or quirky, but others fully maintained that he was part crazy.

It wasn't a dangerous or a self destructive crazy, he was just crazy. And he did things without thinking. He did things for the heck of it or just to make certain people squirm, like K-Unit. They were always really fun to mess with. Alex no longer reacted to his actions very often. He was so used to it, and in the brief time he hadn't he barely reacted then either. That was probably why they were so close. Alex was the one person who actually somewhat understood what was going on in his head. Jack was a close second; everyone else was just lost.

But then one day he got lost in a city he'd never been to in a country he'd never been to. They were in Detroit to hang out with Sabina who had accompanied her father on a job. The man was writing about gang violence and corruption. He'd chosen Detroit because, apparently, there was a gang who was tearing the streets up as they lived it up. Tom had lost interest soon after that and started poking Eagle who had merely grabbed his finger and threatened to break it. He'd started poking Alex after that.

Tom never learned K-Unit's real names. He was sure if he thought real hard he'd come up with them; he'd heard them before. But he preferred the codenames. It made them sound cooler.

So anyway, they were in Detroit and in the airport's parking lot. Tom was trying to convince Sabina that Alex was no good and that he was the better of the two. She just laughed at him. But then the gunshots started and suddenly everybody was scattered. Tom and Alex ended up taking off in a different direction than everybody else. And then he'd gotten separated from Alex. And then the cops came. And then he found himself at the police station waiting for a local social worker to take him home with her until a parent or legal guardian could come pick him up. He didn't think to call Eagle's mobile or Jack's or Alex's. He was having too much fun.

There was also the matter of the little boy who had some serious problems and decided to latch himself to Tom in the brief time he was at the social worker's home. Alex maintained that it was because Tom attracted the broken like a magnet. Look at Alex, look at his ex-girlfriends, look at anyone close to the boy. Tom thought it was because he was a kinder soul than most. Alex said to keep dreaming.

/

"Full house gentlemen," Tom said, laying down his cards on the desk. The cop across from him, a rookie named Green, threw his cards down with a shake of his head as Tom swept the four Milky Ways and nine packets of M&Ms towards his already huge candy pile.

"How the hell did you get so good kid?" the guy on his left asked. Tom didn't know his name.

"Well, Mr. Copper sir, my best friend is an international super spy who doesn't know when to turn off the poker face so I've gotten pretty good at reading people's tells. It helps when a super elite team of soldiers starts giving you pointers too." They all shook their heads at what they thought was his over active imagination.

"Well, however you got so good, I'm just glad we're not playing for real money," the guy on Tom's right added.

"Who needs money when you have candy," Tom replied. They shook their hands and dealt another round. Tom had a terrible hand but in the end was able to fool them all into folding. They groaned and Green and Lefty finally gave up and left to go back to work. Righty stayed with him.

"You play good," he complimented.

"Thanks," Tom replied. "My friend's sister taught me how to play."

"Hmm, you know I keep forgetting," he said leaning forward elbows on the side of the desk. "What's your name?"

"Tommy Eagleton," he lied easily. Some would say lying was his second language.

"Right, so what, you're from England?"

"London," Tom confirmed. The guy nodded. The silence that followed would have been awkward had Tom ever been bothered by awkwardness.

"Long way from home," the guy noted.

"On holiday," Tom replied. "Visiting a friend who moved to the States about a year ago. I've been trying to convince her to go out with me instead of the kid I came over with but she's not buying it." He really didn't want to date Sabina and everybody knew it but it was fun to flirt with her. She was a pretty girl. The cop laughed.

"Careful kid, that's where a lot of violence starts," the guy warned with a smile.

"I'm sure it does," Tom agreed, shuffling the cards just for the heck of it.

"It must suck to spend Christmas Eve here," the guy said, with a touch of sympathy. Tom shook his head.

"I've had worse," he said thinking of two years ago when his parents had both been home, drunk, and angry. He'd spent the next day with Alex and Jack. Ian had been on a job. It had been one of the best holidays in a long time. The cop nodded in an understanding way. He probably saw a good amount of ruined holidays in a city this violent. Tom was actually surprised to see that none of them appeared as if they had anything to do. Alex was in town after all. Surely, something was being blown up.

"Hey, Maskson!" came a shout from the front desk and the cop turned in acknowledgement. "Mercer's here to pick the kid up." Tom started stuffing his prizes into his pockets. He almost didn't have enough room and the cop shook his head at how ridiculous he looked with puffed out pockets full of candy. Tom gave a cheeky grin and walked towards the front with a happy grin on his face. His back was a little stiff from where he had hit the ground-well, thrown to the ground by Alex. But other than that he was fine.

When he got to the waiting area of the station he saw an older woman in a large, worn down coat. She had a bright smile and kind eyes. Tom thought that she'd have looked very pretty in her younger years. Since she was the only one there for the moment he went right up to her.

"Hello," she said, sticking her hand out. "You must Tommy." He smiled, nodded, and shook her hand. "I'm Evelyn. You'll be staying at my house. Are you ready to leave?"  
"Yes, I am," he said quickly and she tried to fight a smile for reasons unknown to Tom.

"Well, I've already filled out the paperwork so let's get going. Are you hungry?"

"Nope," he said brightly as they went out into the freezing cold. "I won a bunch of candy." She didn't know what he meant and he never elaborated.

/

They got to Evelyn's house at two in the morning. He would have felt bad about making her get out so late but she seemed fine. She never even yawned. She gave him a bunch of blankets and a pillow and he crashed on the couch. He didn't wake up until somebody poked him. He cracked an eye open to see two black boys, one his age, the other a little older, standing right next to him.

"Who're you?" the younger one asked.

"Tommy," he said bluntly, too tired to come up with anything sarcastic or strange.

"I'm Angel, this is Jerry," the boy replied. "You the reason Ma left at midnight?" Tom nodded.

"Yeah," he said.

"Where are you from?" Jerry asked. "You don't sound American."

"I'm from Mars, pleased to meet you," he said and Jerry rolled his eyes.

"Fine, don't tell me."

"Whatever you say," Tom said and received a glare in the process.

"Boys, come eat," Tom heard Evelyn shout from what he assumed was the kitchen. That got Tom up and around and he followed Angel to the table. Tom was a bit surprised to see a little boy, no more than nine, sitting at the table already, his brown hair sticking up in every direction and looking a little scared for some reason. He sent Tom a wary glance as he sat down in the seat next to him.

"When's Bobby coming?" Angel asked.

"He should be here this afternoon," Evelyn said.

"Who's Bobby?" Tom asked. He was pretty sure he was the only one to see the little kid perk up as if wanting to know the answer to that question himself.

"He's our brother," Jerry mumbled, more concerned with his pancakes. Tom took a good look at the people around him. None of them looked like each other. Either they were all foster kids or Evelyn liked to adopt. He guessed the latter, she seemed the type. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, Tommy," she said, sounding as if she was bracing herself from some sort of backlash. He didn't understand why. He was crazy, sure, but he wasn't the violent type. Violence was too easy and Tom preferred a challenge. "Is there someone I can call for you?" Tom adopted a thoughtful look.

"Not really," he said. "Mum and Dad are back in England and my brother's in Venice somewhere, though he might be Amsterdam by now."

"What about the people you came with?" she questioned.

"Oh, no, I don't know what happened to them," he said. "Jack should be looking for Alex and Alex is probably hiding somewhere."

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked, looking highly confused. The little boy had perked up at 'Jack'. "What's Jack got to do with this?"

"I think he means a different Jack, Angel," Jerry said.

"Your name's Jack?" Tom asked, looking at the kid next to him. He nodded but didn't speak. "Anyway, Jacqueline, but we call her Jack, is Alex's sister and Alex is my best friend. I came over with them but we got separated. I don't know where they are or even if they have their mobiles."

"Well, why don't we go ahead and try," Evelyn suggested though Tom didn't think he'd be getting out of it. He nodded. They finished eating soon and while the family went to do presents, as the younger kids certainly weren't waiting for this Bobby character, Tom started calling people. He got three different voice messages. Then he decided to call Wolf. He'd memorized the man's work number when he'd taken the address.

"Wolf," he answered gruffly after three rings.

"I wish you a merry Christmas," Tom said sweetly.

"Harris," Wolf growled. "What the hell are you doing? This is my work number."

"And I have a job for you," Tom replied. He could practically _see_ Wolf's anger.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" he asked, making the mistake of humoring him. Really, you'd think the guy would know better by now.

"Well, there was this shoot out, and now I can't get a hold of anybody. They held me at the police station for like five hours last night but it was okay because I totally won a bunch of candy in a poker game with three cops who have _terrible_ poker faces. Then this really nice lady from social services picked me up and I'm at her house right now and they won't let me leave without a parent or guardian so I called you."

There was a brief pause after his ramble before Wolf shook himself out of it.

"I'm not your parent or guardian," he said roughly, but he didn't sound very mad anymore. "Where is Eagle?"

"How should I know? I just told you I haven't been able to contact anybody," Tom said rolling his eyes at Wolf's short memory span. "Can you please come get me?"

"Why don't you call your mother?" he snapped.

"Because," Tom said but didn't continue.

"Because?" Wolf probed.

"I don't want to talk about it," Tom replied quickly. "Can you please come get me?" He heard Wolf sigh.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he said. "But my first priority is finding Eagle. You stay exactly where you are, I'll call you when we can come get you."

"Okay," Tom said. "Thank you."

"Whatever, sit tight."

"Yes sir," he said and the line went dead. Tom gently placed the phone back onto the receiver and went to the living room. Evelyn looked up as he entered.

"Well?" she asked.

"I got a hold of, um, Remus," he said hoping none of them read Harry Potter. It was the first name he could think of and Remus _did_ hint at the Wolfy persuasion. Thankfully, nobody called him out.

"And who is that?" she asked.

"My other brother," he said. It technically wasn't his lie. Wolf had told that to a waitress once when Tom was getting them in trouble for kidnapping and he was trying to blow it off. Tom may have completely ruined the lie and almost gotten them arrested but it didn't mean he couldn't continue it now.

"Okay, when will he be here?" she asked.

"He's leaving for the airport now but he's coming all the way from London, so it will be awhile," he said.

"That's okay, stay as long as you need to," she said with another smile.

"Thank you," he said honestly. Jerry and Angel went out a little after that to play street hockey and Evelyn went to the kitchen. They'd invited Tom to come out with them but he'd declined with the excuse that he'd had enough of the cold last night running from rabid Snorkacks. He got some very strange looks but they let it go.

The little boy, Jack, wandered in from wherever he'd been hiding and came up to Tom. From what Tom had been able to gather, this was rather brave and figuring that Evelyn was the social worker taking care of a severely abused boy, he was impressed about the bravery.

"Yes?" he asked as quietly as he could. The kid had a permanent deer in the headlights look about him and in all honesty it made Tom a little nervous. Jack held up a small bell, like the one's sewed onto collars and harnesses, that had clearly been cut away from something. It was attached to small piece of red collar. The bell didn't jingle and it was a fair bet that the ball that had gone inside of it had been taken out. Tom took the little bell from the boy's outstretched hand.

"Thank you," he said and Jack climbed up onto the seat beside him. There was a safety pin on the back and Tom immediately pinned it to his hoodie. It clashed horribly with the orange but he didn't care. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to looking insane. "You wanna watch Frosty the Snowman?" Tom asked and the little boy nodded his head. Tom changed the channel to the old movie.

He glanced up to see Evelyn in the doorway. She looked stunned and extremely happy. She gave a Tom a grateful smile. He wasn't sure if this was a huge milestone for the kid but he nodded anyway.

/

That night Bobby got there. If Tom wasn't so used to the SAS soldiers he might have considered being nervous around the obvious gang member. It took him all of two moments to find out that Bobby was one of the people Sabina's Dad was writing about. It helped that the walls in this house were extremely thin and they weren't the quietest of people. It seemed that Jerry and Angel wanted to run with their older brother. He wondered how Jack fit into this little family.

He sat next to the little boy during dinner as well. It was scary how fast Jack latched onto him. Tom couldn't understand why either. He'd ask Evelyn later. Bobby was looking at him a little weirdly as were the two other boys. Apparently, they weren't quite understanding how he'd gotten Jack to like him so fast. Halfway through the meal the phone rang and Evelyn answered it. She'd brought in the cordless from the living room so that they wouldn't have to get up. She answered it, listened, then handed it to Tom.

"Hello?" he asked around a mouthful of mashed potato.

"Where are you?"

"Alex! You're alive! Good to know. You know this Christmas wasn't one of our best. We should do a re-do when we get home. Hey, do you think-" Tom was cut off by a very angry yell.

"TOM! I'm not kidding around! Where are you?" He'd shouted his name so loud, Tom had to rip the phone away from his ear and prayed it was still functional.

"God," Tom said lowly, a little pissed. "Hang on, I'm at a social worker's house. What's your address?" As Evelyn rattled it off he relayed the message.

"Stay there," Alex responded.

"Why does everyone think I'm going somewhere?" he asked but Alex had already hung up. That was annoying. He hung up. "They're on their way." Evelyn just nodded and the meal continued. 'They' turned out to be just Alex and Wolf. When Tom opened the door for them they pushed past, and Alex swiftly closed and locked the door.

"As soon as we find Eagle and Jack, we're leaving the country," Alex whispered. Well, that didn't sound good. Deciding he really didn't want to know what happened this time Tom simply nodded. He led Alex back to the kitchen. The other boy must have been exhausted because he placed both hands on Tom's shoulders and leaned quite heavily. It looked like he was simply pushing Tom into walking but that's certainly not what it felt like.

Both of the newcomers were a little banged up and Evelyn noticed. So did her four sons.

"This is Remus and Alex," Tom said, pointedly not looking at Wolf who thankfully was trained not to blow covers. The only indication that he was annoyed by the name was a scratch to his chin.

"Hi," he said a little stiffly.

"Hello," Evelyn said. "Well, now that you're here I need you to sign some release forms. Just stating that officially he's in your custody until you leave the country."

"Of course," he said.

"Where's Sab?" Tom asked sitting back down at the table to finish his meal. Alex grabbed Evelyn's vacant seat before he could fall down.

"On a plane back to San Fran," he replied, then stole Tom's bread, who then stole Angel's.

"Any idea where the others are?" he asked. Alex shook his head.

"Not a clue," he replied. "Turns out Sab's Dad was the target. Again. Some guy heard about his article and wanted to stop it from happening."

"Who was it?" Bobby asked, the only one fully informed about the reason behind Tom's stay. Evelyn had let him in on the situation as soon as she could pry him away from the younger boys.

"I don't know," Alex responded. Tom was distracted by the conversation between Evelyn and Wolf.

"Wait, I have to be a family member?" he asked and Tom sunk down a little.

"You aren't his brother?" Evelyn asked.

"No, I'm just the unlucky son of a bitch he called," Wolf responded a tad rudely. "Tom, why would call me if you knew it had to be a family member?"

"What are you talking about dear brother 'o mine?" Tom asked sweetly.

"Stop telling people we're related!" Wolf snapped pointing at him to emphasis exactly who he was talking to.

"If you aren't his brother then who are you?" Bobby asked.

"It's a long story," Wolf said.

"We've got the time," Evelyn pushed. She crossed her arms and looked rather impressive for such a small woman.

"Well, Tom is Alex's best friend, Alex has a sister, Jack, Jack has a boyfriend, Andy, and I'm Andy's teammate."

"Teammate for what?" Jerry asked, now interested.

"Army," Wolf replied simply. "Do you have a form for custody release to a government official?"

"Yes, I do, come with me." Wolf and Evelyn left the kitchen and with them the threat to Tom's person. There was silence until Alex spoke up.

"Are you wearing a bell?" he asked.

"Yes," Tom said. "I like this bell." Alex tried to smile to show that he cared but it didn't really work.

"Rey's really mad you know," Alex said. It took a moment for Tom to figure out who Rey was.

"Not my problem," he said.

"Actually it is, you're the one who called him."

"He didn't have to come," Tom maintained. Alex gave him a look and Tom knew exactly what he meant by it. No matter how much Wolf pretended not to care or to be a heartless person they all knew he wouldn't abandon Tom to a potentially dangerous situation in a foreign country. They all knew Wolf would have come and got him, even if he hadn't been alone on Christmas, which was something only Tom knew because he was insightful like that. Tom shrugged.

"Whatever."

"You know if you're gonna tell people you're related you might want to pick someone who looks like you," Angel suddenly piped up having finished his meal and digested enough to talk but apparently not think.

"Could say the same for you," Tom said, looking pointedly at all the brothers. Angel flushed as he realized what he said. "Just because we aren't brothers in blood doesn't mean we aren't brothers in hearts."

"Don't say that around Rey, he'll kill you."

"You know what Alex, shut up, that was a profound moment right there." Alex held up his hands in surrender and tried not to laugh. "Rey!"

"What!" Wolf shouted back from what sounded like the living room.

"I love you!" When Wolf responded by not responding Alex cracked up followed quickly by Tom.

"I thought his name was Remus," Angel said, making the two laugh even harder.

/

All three ended up spending the night at Evelyn's demand after she found out that they would most likely end up sleeping in the car as all three were broke. Wolf had spent the last of his paycheck on a ticket to America. Tom didn't understand why he just didn't contact MI6 and get a free flight on a private plane, but that was just him. Alex won the poker game for the couch so Tom and Wolf were stuck on the floor.

At some point in the night they heard screaming. Tom woke up to see Alex and Wolf by the stairs looking up into the hallway above. He moved to stand by them. Almost all the lights were on.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"That little kid," Alex said. "He's having a wicked nightmare." They continued staring until Wolf put his arm out to force them away.

"Go back to sleep guys," he said lowly. Both boys complied and Wolf went up to see if there was anything he could do. Tom had never heard a nightmare like this before. Jack screamed for ten minutes straight. Either they couldn't wake him up or he was just that scared.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Are your nightmares like this?"

"No, his are worse." A sharp, signal whistle sounded from upstairs and both boys sprang up and took the stairs two at a time. The entire Mercer family plus Wolf was in Jack's bedroom. The two boys stopped at the doorway.

"Water," Wolf snapped and Alex instantly sprang back down the stairs. The Mercer brothers didn't seem to know what to do. Evelyn was doing her best but it was a terrible nightmare. She was in over her head at the point as well. They could have really used Snake right about then. "Tom, bucket, kitchen, go!" Tom took off as well. He found it under the sink and dumped out the cleaning supplies stored in it before taking off up the stairs right behind Alex. They dumped the water on the boy and this time he became aware of himself. He'd been awake for a long time but now he snapped out of it. Tom shoved the bucket under his face just he leaned over the edge of the bed and vomited. The three visitors gave up their spots to the family and went back to downstairs to their beds. It took Tom a long time to get back to sleep.

"You okay Tom?" Wolf whispered, surprising the boy. He'd thought he'd been asleep.

"Yeah," Tom whispered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," Tom said a little hesitantly. What could he possibly have to say?

"Why did you call me?" Tom hesitated before he answered. He considered lying but in the end just blurted out how he felt.

"No one should be alone on Christmas," he said. "No matter how cranky they are."

/

The next day found Tom trying to forcibly keep Alex and Wolf from killing each other. They'd all put themselves on house arrest as going out onto the streets now was more trouble than it was worth and with the real target already out of the city there was no point in them hunting down a bunch of people who didn't know them. It was also a good idea to stay in one place to make it easier for Jack and Eagle to find them. Wolf had spoken with them briefly before finding Alex and they'd all agreed to lay low for a day then meet up. They hadn't been able to get a hold of them again but all that meant was the mobile's battery was dead, like Alex's. Thankfully Wolf had remembered his charger so they had a line.

So with the forced inaction Wolf and Alex were climbing the walls and getting on each other's last nerve much to everyone else's amusement. Little Jack was even more subdued than normal but it was to be expected. Bobby had a surprisingly strong protective streak in him and Jack wasn't out of his sight very often that day. Tom couldn't even begin to contemplate what that little boy had gone through to have a nightmare like that.

The Mercers went out that night for dinner. It was their Boxing Day tradition. It made good bye a lot less sticky as twenty minutes after they left Eagle called to say they needed to meet at the airport, they were leaving. Alex was already in the cab another ten minutes later but Tom had hesitated.

"C'mon kid, it's not like you even know them," Wolf said a bit harshly from the front door.

"Do you think I'll end up like Jack?" he asked randomly.

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked, his curiosity compelling him a little further inside.

"They're always telling me I'm crazy," he said quietly.

"Jack isn't crazy," Wolf snapped, interrupting. "He's broken and you're not." They left after that. Many hours, thousands of holiday travelers, and a car ride later they were home. Finally. Tom was exhausted but despite what anyone thought it had been a pretty awesome, insanity filled Christmas holiday.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter was so riddled with things I didn't like. I didn't think it was on pace with the story and there wasn't nearly enough Alex. It was also another ill fated attempt at an Alex Rider-Four Brothers crossover. Bleh.

This Chapter was supposed to in the place of the chapter 'K-Unit' immediately following 'Of Cupcakes and Videotapes'. Enjoy!

* * *

Tom Harris was notorious for not following the rules. He didn't like to be grounded, he didn't like when Wolf pulled rank, and he certainly didn't like when the man was determined to be strict. The soldier had been more than a little disturbed by the video Blunt had turned over to the SAS for training purposes. Tom couldn't believe the man had actually done that. He also couldn't believe how loud Wolf had shouted when he'd come home early from the seminar.

The teen had always considered Wolf to be more of a roommate than an actual authority figure. Sure the man had tried to ground him once or twice but the soldier wasn't a parent and he certainly wasn't Tom's parent. That meant Tom more or less did what he wanted. The man never set a curfew; he never really asked where Tom was going when he left; he never set any rules beyond 'don't mess up my flat'.

So in the aftermath of that stupid seminar Tom was more than a little surprised that the soldier was nearly insane with anger. Tom had never seen him like that and for the first time the boy was actually sitting wide eyed, pinned to the spot, and unable to offer any sort of excuse, sarcastic or otherwise, in the face of Wolf's temper. Once the man had been through he'd simply gone into his bedroom and slammed the door so hard the walls shook. Tom didn't know what to do; he'd never before been scared of Wolf and there was no doubt in his mind that the man had left when he did so that he wouldn't do or say anything he would come to regret.

It was nearly two hours before Tom worked up the nerve to go into the back room and check on the soldier. He didn't bother with knocking; he just opened the door quietly. Wolf was sitting on his bed flipping through one of Tom's gaming magazines. The boy didn't say anything. For the first time in a long time he didn't know what to say even if his mouth didn't feel like it was full of sand.

"You're grounded," Wolf said softly standing up and coming towards the door. He put his hand on Tom's chest and gently nudged him out of the doorway and back into the hallway. "I don't want to hear the telly." Then the door was shut in his face.

Tom felt shocked; Wolf had actually shut him out? Wolf had never shut him out of his room before. Shock turned to anger and he aimed a kick at the door. He kicked it as hard as he could but didn't wait around after that. It didn't open but the bottom of the flimsy wood door bent back momentarily from the force he'd used. He knew Wolf would never have been able to miss it but the man seemed inclined to ignore both it and the teen.

Tom didn't see him for the rest of the night.

* * *

The boy was able to withstand the harsh grounding for three weeks. Much longer than anyone thought he'd last. Wolf was pretty serious about Tom learning his lesson this time. He made the boy wake up at five every morning regardless of it being a weekday or not; he did extra, sometimes redundant, chores; he wasn't allowed to use any electronics; his comics were taken away. The only thing Wolf let him do was homework and chores. The flat had never been cleaner.

But Tom was a kid that needed to go and be entertained. He quickly became miserable and he likened Wolf to a torturer most days. Tom came to resent him and the two quickly began to argue even more as tensions rose.

Alex knew how it would end; he'd seen the outcomes of such situations before. So it was absolutely no surprise to the ex-spy when one bright Monday morning the phone inside the Rider home began to ring. And it was no surprise that it was Wolf on the other end with the news that Tom had run away.

"Where would he go?" Wolf asked Alex over the phone.

"Did you check his drawer?" the blond asked referring the space Wolf had given him in the big dresser.

"Yeah," the man replied. "There's a pamphlet to the amusement park, one to a skateboarding park in Glasgow, and comics."

"Is his passport in there?" Alex asked knowing that Tom kept it sandwiched between his magazines and comic books.

"No, not that I can see," Wolf said after some fumbling and shuffling.

"I'd check the airport," Alex said. "He likes to holiday in America."

"Got it," the soldier said and hung up without saying 'bye'. Not that Alex expected him to.

* * *

In the end it didn't take much for Wolf to track the boy down. He'd hopped on a flight to America but Wolf was too late and the plane had already taken off by the time he'd managed to get in contact with someone with any sort of authority. Wolf used his status in the SAS to grab a seat on a corporate jet headed for the same airport not half an hour later.

Why the boy would pick Detroit, Wolf didn't know. What he did know was that by the time his own flight had landed, the kid had managed to slip by security and was out in the city before anyone could stop him. Wolf had thrown a right fit. The Americans hadn't appreciated the rather unsavory remarks about their intelligence and Wolf had almost been deported.

The soldier had no idea where the kid would go in this city, if he knew anyone, if he had any cash, or if he had any idea on how he was going to eat. Wolf thought about him constantly for the entire week he spent searching for the boy with the help of an overlarge local policeman.

But Tom was a ghost. He was nowhere to be found. Wolf found himself praying that the boy wasn't lying in a ditch somewhere, dead and frozen. The cold February air was horrible and everything froze and his own breath would catch in his throat as if also trying to escape the bitter cold.

And then, a lucky break.

"Hey," Officer Deviti said as Wolf took his usual seat in the old plastic chair by the Officer's desk. "We got a hit on one of the aliases you said the kid might use. What sort of teenager has aliases, by the way?"

"One not looking to be found anytime soon," Wolf responded. He hadn't told the Americans as to the personal nature of his search. He'd simply told them that Tom was a government witness on the run and that Wolf was there to bring him back to England safely. It wasn't entirely a lie even though it was a blatant misdirect.

"Right," the other man replied, not curious enough to continue asking. When a person served as long as he had in this city, you eventually just stopped being surprised. "Well, Thomas Wolfe came up in the system sometime yesterday afternoon. Child Services had him the whole time apparently. They're horribly overworked and the paperwork didn't get entered till now."

"Where is he?" Wolf asked and he saw the officer hesitate. "Where is he?"

"Well," Deviti replied slowly. "At first I thought it was a mistake 'cause Miss Evelyn's been dead for nearly five months now but it seems her house is still on the active foster home list."

"Where. Is. He?" Wolf pressed.

"With the Mercers," the fatter man said quickly, looking a little cowed by Wolf's tone.

"Am I supposed to know who they are?" Wolf asked.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't but the Mercers are pretty infamous on both sides of the law," the man told him. "Especially since Sweet disappeared."

"Who's Sweet?"

"Victor Sweet," the man spat and Wolf could tell there was no love lost between this Sweet character and the local law enforcement. "He was a scum bag who ran wild in this city for way too long. The Mercers were suspected of killing him but there was never any proof. Not that anybody expected there to be."

"Why would they kill him?" Wolf asked, hoping that Tom hadn't managed to land himself in any more danger or trouble than he was already in.

"Sweet killed their mother and little brother," Deviti replied. "And then he had the investigating Detective killed when he got too close to the truth." Wolf nodded. Not coldblooded killers then. Just smart vigilantes. He could work with vigilantes. Half the time he felt like one himself.

"Well, let's go," Wolf said springing up from his chair and practically dragging the reluctant police man along with him. He was far too close to finding the kid and he wasn't about to lose the little monster now that he'd found him.

* * *

He'd been there all along. Wolf was relieved that the boy had, at least, been in a warm place. It was too cold out here for him to believe that the boy would survive a night on the street, much less eight. The soldier was out of the car almost before Deviti had put it in park. He was knocking on the door before the other man had even gotten his seat belt off.

"Hey!" the portly American shouted. "Wait!"

But Wolf didn't wait. He needed to have the kid in his sights _before_ he cottoned on to the fact that Wolf was there. The boy had already proven to be capable of running and Wolf was under no illusion that the kid would take off the second he realized Wolf had found him. He lifted his fist and pounded away at the heavy wooden door.

A few seconds later it was flung open and Wolf was faced with a tall, stocky black man. Wolf didn't give the man a chance to speak. He simply held up his identification.

"SAS," he snapped. "Is there a Thomas Wolfe here?" The other man looked a little shocked.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" he asked, confused but not willing to give away anything to anyone he didn't know. It was at this point that Deviti managed to pull his overweight self onto the porch and puffed out his own greeting.

"Mercer, where's the foster kid?" the Officer asked. "It's important. He might be in danger."

Wolf had led the police to believe that Tom might be in danger from some sort of threat he wasn't at liberty to talk about. It seemed far more effective than admitting that he was chasing after his wayward ward who had fled the country after being grounded for three weeks because he followed his ex-MI6 best friend on a dangerous car chase through downtown London that had ended with a violent drug dealer being strung up a flag pole by the seat of his pants. He didn't think that explanation would go over very well, even if it was legal for him to talk of such things.

"What kind of danger?" Mercer asked. But he stepped aside anyway. "Who are you again?"

"Where is he?" Wolf asked as he pushed his way past and into their living room. Another man, this one white, was sitting and watching the telly. He stood immediately.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Bobby, they're here about the kid," the black man told him.

"What about the kid?" Bobby asked. "Did he do something?"

"Yes," Wolf replied truthfully. "Just not in this country."

"What?" Bobby asked. Deviti too was looking a little out of his depth.

"Where is he?" Wolf pressed. Bobby looked ready to reply to him but another voice cut him off. The sound of light footsteps accompanied with the light hearted voice made him unmistakably Tom.

"Hey Angel, do you know where I put my-" he stopped talking the second he stepped into the living room and saw Wolf and Deviti. He looked surprised for but a moment before he wiped the look off his face. "What are _you _doing here?" The tone was angry and the fake accent was American. Wolf raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" he threw back matching Tom tone for tone.

"You know this guy?" the black man asked, pointing at Wolf. He sounded uncertain.

"Yeah," Tom replied, still using that stupid fake accent. "I know him."

"Quit the accent," Wolf snapped suddenly more annoyed that Tom was hiding the fact that he was British than he was at the entire situation. "And get your things. We're leaving."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Tom snapped, the fake accent gone in a flash. Wolf saw the three mostly ignored men raise their eyebrows at how good it had been. Wolf wasn't surprised to know that Tom could fake an American accent. He'd spent a lot of time around Jack and he was naturally a good lair.

"Tom," Wolf began, his frustration horribly evident.

"No!"

"I'm sorry," Deviti cut in. "What exactly is he wanted for?" The fat American pointed at Tom and Wolf fought off his urge to ask why the man was only _now_ voicing any concern as to Wolf's true intention.

"Fleeing the country," Wolf snapped back.

"Fleeing the country?" Tom asked in a derisive tone. "Did you use your title to find me?"

"Oh course!" Wolf practically shouted at him. "How else was I supposed to find you? You were using an alias! What did I tell you about falsifying identities?"

"Not to use fake identities," Tom replied sounding both bored and patronizing at the same time. Wolf ignored the tone.

"Not to do it! So what do you do?"

"I faked an i.d."

"You fake an i.d.!" Wolf was past listening at this point and Tom knew it. The three Americans he had all but bombarded were staring at him a bit wide eyed and confused. Wolf didn't blame them. Even he sometimes had a hard time keeping up the situations Tom put him in. "You leave the country in the middle of the night with a fake i.d. and a fake passport! How did you even get a fake passport? No! I don't want to know! Do you have any idea what you put me through?"

If anyone had accused him of worry Wolf likely would have responded violently but deep down, in the part of him that actually liked Tom, he could admit that he had been worried. Terribly worried. He had been so sure that he would have had to bring Tom back in a coffin stored in the cargo hold of some commercial flight between someone's golf clubs and the mail bags.

"When did you come after me?" Tom asked.

"Right after I woke up," Wolf informed him. "I had to call Alex and ask him where the hell you thought you were going!"

"Wait a minute," said the black man who had answered the door. Wolf couldn't remember his name. "Are you two family?"

"No!" Wolf exclaimed.

"Sort of," Tom said, still frustratingly calm. "He's my legal guardian."

"You said he was a witness," Deviti cut in hotly. Clearly he didn't enjoy devoting police resources to some foreign runaway with an army of aliases he shouldn't have. Well, he didn't enjoy being lied to about it at least.

"He is," Wolf said calmly. "He also happens to be my ward."

"Is he a foster?" the other man-the white one-asked.

"No," Wolf replied and then looked to Tom for a little help. Some bullshit would be very nice right about...now. Tom obliged.

"He's the guy that took me in when I had nowhere else to go," Tom told them and the two civilians turned rather appreciative looks on Wolf. The soldier remembered that this was a foster home. Apparently, stepping up was respected. "He's my legal guardian who also happens to be abusing his power."

"I abused my power?" Wolf asked incredulously. "Tom!"

"Well, it's true," the teen said petulantly. "That punishment was just mean."

"Don't be a baby," Wolf snapped. "You deserved what you got for nearly getting yourself killed! Stealing a car and lying about is not okay Tom!"

"I didn't steal that car!" Tom shouted clearly offended at the accusation. Wolf had no sympathy. There was no reason for Tom to be involved in that chase with Skoda. Alex shouldn't have gone on the chase either but he had, putting three lives at risk for a personal grudge. Wolf understood the temptation but he also understood the risks, especially where Tom had been concerned.

"But you were in it and I had to find out on the news!" Wolf shouted right back. The news part wasn't true but it wasn't like he could tell the truth about seeing the tape in an SAS training seminar. He also wouldn't admit to storming out like an over the top parent no matter how much his friends heckled him about it. "It's not like I beat you with a stick!"

"Yeah it was worse," Tom replied sounding horribly childish and crossing his arms. Wolf rolled his eyes.

"I'm not talking about this," he said. "Get your things, we're leaving."

"Ugh," Tom grunted and then stormed back up the stairs. Wolf took a deep breath to calm himself and then turned to find the homeowners giving him a peculiar look.

"He fled the country because you grounded him?" the black man asked looking more amused than Wolf thought he had the right too. "Isn't that a little dramatic?"

"He's a dramatic kind of kid," Wolf responded. "He's been like that since I've known him."

"How long have you been taking care of him?" the white man asked.

"A few months," Wolf responded. "It's been too long."

The two homeowners smiled but Deviti just continued to look sour.

"You lied to me," the officer said sounding more petulant than he'd probably meant to.

"Sorry," Wolf said genuinely. The officer had been nothing but helpful during this entire process. "But it wasn't all a lie. Tom _is_ a witness."

"To what?" the black man asked, curious.

"To many things," Wolf responded. "You'll have to forgive me, put I can't tell you anything other than that. It's all classified."

Eyebrows soared upwards again and the silence that had descended was only interrupted when Tom came down the stairs with his duffle slung over one shoulder.

"You still peddling that 'classified' line?" he asked sarcastically.

"It's not a line," Wolf snapped and pointed to the front door. "Go!"

Guardian and ward left the Mercer house behind and barely said a word to each other for the next week. That is until Wolf returned the comic books and the electronics, telling the boy that his life wasn't worth a joy ride around London. He was never to follow Alex into battle ever again. Not until he'd had the same training.

Tom spent the next few hours asking if Wolf he'd be the Batman to Tom's Robin.


End file.
